


strawberry cake

by chapter_61



Series: COC 2019 [7]
Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Carry On Countdown (Simon Snow), Carry On Countdown 2019, DEC 1 - WLW, Day 7: WLW, F/F, Peri-Book 1: Carry On, Peri-Book: Carry On
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21634969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chapter_61/pseuds/chapter_61
Summary: Before I even hear footsteps, I can sense someone’s coming. They walked through the barriers around my cottage. It’s not an intruder, though, the goats would’ve warned me. Then I hear the bells.The bells!As quietly as I can, I sprint towards the small mirror on my night table and try to flatten my messy mop of hair. Whoops, that’s hay. I carefully wrestle the pieces of hay out of there and punch my trousers to get the flour out. I’ve been baking.The bells are getting louder.Gerda looks at me mockingly from the fireplace but I ignore her. I don’t judge her when she’s mooning over some buck, she needs to learn some manners. I laugh.
Relationships: Ebeneza "Ebb" Petty/Dryad, Ebeneza "Ebb" Petty/Original Character(s)
Series: COC 2019 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1553623
Kudos: 11
Collections: Carry On Countdown 2019





	strawberry cake

Before I even hear footsteps, I can sense someone’s coming. They walked through the barriers around my cottage. It’s not an intruder, though, the goats would’ve warned me. Then I hear the bells.

The bells!

As quietly as I can, I sprint towards the small mirror on my night table and try to flatten my messy mop of hair. Whoops, that’s hay. I carefully wrestle the pieces of hay out of there and punch my trousers to get the flour out. I’ve been baking.

The bells are getting louder.

Gerda looks at me mockingly from the fireplace but I ignore her. I don’t judge her when she’s mooning over some buck, she needs to learn some manners. I laugh.

Then, I look around and spot books, a blanket, a throw pillow, multiple candles and my knitting needles on the floor. I gather them all in my arms and shove them in a chest next to my bed.

The bells are almost at the door. A goat bleats outside, less of a warning and more of an announcement, and I rub my cheeks to will the redness away.

What am I doing? I’m standing in the middle of my cottage like a loony. I grab a random book from my shelf and throw myself on my ratty couch, nonchalantly.

The bells stop. Then, a knock.

I can’t stop the smile forming on my face while I stumble towards the door. I take a second to compose myself.

C’mon, Ebb. Act like a normal person.

I open the door, and there she is. Her hair, not actual moss but very alike, is straight and green and looks beautiful in the sun. She’s wearing a purple dress that covers most of her brown skin, and on her arm sits a wooden basket.

“Hiya, Juniper,” I manage.

She smiles at me. Juniper has a wonderful smile. Her eyes are a dark green (they light up in the dark!) but whenever she smiles I swear her eyes get brighter.

“Hello, Ebeneza,” she says, and she points to her basket. “I brought the good stuff.”

It makes me laugh. Ever since Juniper’s first visit, she started picking up on the things I said. Her speech has been getting better. When I first met her in the Wavering Wood, she spoke like a Victorian woman from a Jane Austen novel. I suppose I’m glad she started using more modern words, but there’s something romantic about the old language. Or maybe I’ve been reading too many old books.

I invite her inside, silently mourning the absence of the sun that makes Juniper glow and her footsteps sound like bells. Maybe I’ll ask her to eat dinner outside. Might be too romantic. Might be what she wants. It’s what _I_ want, and maybe it’s finally time to make a move like Nicky’s been telling me for ages. Or maybe not. Being reclusive makes it a tad hard to pick up on social cues.

Juniper greets Gerda enthusiastically, and I scowl at my goat companion. I should’ve left her outside for today.

But then Juniper shifts her attention over to me and I forget about it. She gives me another small smile and it makes the magic in my body sizzle.

“Have you been baking?” She asks.

She’s asking about the baking! I follow her to my counter. “Yeah! I tried to make a cake.”

Juniper gasps, and she lifts her hands to her mouth. It’s adorable. “A cake? Really?”

I swiftly turn towards the tiny fridge to hide my red cheeks and take my masterpiece out. I made an actual cake! Without using any magic! It took a few tries to get it right, though.

The cake is round, with white glazing and strawberries on top. I have no idea how it’ll taste, but even if it’s bad, I can probably just give it to Simon.

“Strawberries!” Juniper reaches out excitedly and puts her hands underneath the plate that I’m still holding. I’m holding the plate, with my hands, and Juniper has her hands around mine. Holding the cake. Sweet Morgana.

I was looking at the cake, but now I’m looking up at Juniper’s face. She says, “I’ve never had strawberries before.”

“I know,” I tell her. “You’ve told me.” It feels like a confession, standing in the kitchen like this, hands touching underneath the strawberry cake I made her. She gives me a knowing smile, as if she’s seeing right through me. I hope so. I hope not. I don’t know what to hope.

She takes her hands back slowly and turns towards the cabinet with plates and silverware.

“We should eat outside,” I say. It breaks the tension and things feel slightly more normal again.

Juniper tosses her hair over her shoulder in an elegant way and says, “That’s fine. As long as we eat soon, I’m starving.”

“Can dryads starve?”

“Can’t say I’ve tried it.”

We giggle.

I take the cake with me outside, along with a blanket. I throw Gerda a look to tell her to stay inside, and go help Juniper with carrying the plates and her basket.

We sit down and enjoy each other’s company while watching the sun set, tasting the strawberry cake that turned out better than expected, and trying various fruits from the Wood. And as our hands touch once again, I think I might finally make a move tonight.


End file.
